Air traffic controllers directed the plane to an airport in Newark, New Jersey, losing radar for the second time in two weeks.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar of the agency guiding the planes into and out of Newark Airport lasted 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. ET. This is similar to what happened on April 28.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or delayed at Newark Airport in the past two weeks after the FAA slowed down traffic at airports to ensure safety.
After the power outage, trauma leave occurs at the five controllers, which worsens the existing shortage. It is not clear whether the vacation will be on now.
According to Flightaware.com, the number of cancellations departing from Newark rose from 40 seconds to 57 to lead the country.
Newark ranked second in the 60 canceled arrivals, but that number also increased Friday morning. It is reported that the airport has been delayed by nearly 300 times. Officials said the airport had more than 1,700 cancellations and delays this week.
Their union confirmed that Newark Airport air traffic controllers briefly lost contact with the radar and communicated with several aircraft under their watch. Chaos has been catching airports for two weeks, causing a chain reaction in the United States
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing Friday morning that the “glitch this morning” was caused by the same problem as last week, but did not interrupt the flight.
“After a brief power outage, everything was back online, with no operational impact,” Levitt said.
U.S. Rep. Josh blamed them for the lack of proper air traffic controller staff and modern technology.
He said at a Friday press conference that there are about 20 controllers working, and that number should be in the 1960s. Many lines connecting the controller to the radar are outdated copper wires. New Jersey Democrats said the April 28 blackout was caused by one of the copper wires.
“Our region is an important economic artery in our country. But, this region… As I mentioned, one of the busiest spaces in the world is running out of a tower full of copper wires, dating back to the 1980s, its outdated and inefficient technology is short, and the region is short – which is big – it's a big air transport with about 40 air traffic controllers.” He said the tower was back Brady Bunch Times” 1973.
The FAA said earlier this week it was installing new fiber optic data cables to carry radar signals between facilities in Philadelphia and New York. Officials said some of the lines connecting the two facilities were outdated copper wires and would be replaced. But it is not clear how quickly these repairs can be completed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multibillion-dollar plan Thursday to replace the country’s aging air traffic control system to prevent such problems and provide modern technology to controllers. The plan includes installing 4,600 new high-speed connections and replacing 618 radars nationwide.
A fatal air collision between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter in January and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., several other crashes this year also put pressure on officials to take action, which officials have laid out plans to upgrade the system.
However, the shortcomings of air traffic control systems have been known for decades. The National Transportation Safety Commission has not identified issues with the air traffic control system that led to a crash near Reagan National Airport.
